I will not found a political party to avoid polarization: Sisi

CAIRO: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said he will not establish a political party, in order to avoid “division and polarization at the current critical time,” presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef was quoted by Youm7 Tuesday.

Ahead of parliamentary elections, scheduled to be held in March through May, Sisi met with heads of political parties on Monday and Tuesday to discuss political life in Egypt, a presidential statement announced Tuesday.

“The president reaffirmed his keenness that the state and its institutions would not support any specific political alliance or party list in the coming parliamentary elections,” according to the statement.

During the meeting, Sisi also called on heads of political parties to form a “national party list” in the upcoming parliamentary ballot.

The meeting with the heads of political parties is the first of its kind since Sisi took office in June 2014.

The 2015 parliamentary polls in Egypt, scheduled from March 21 to May 7, is the final step of the three-stage political roadmap outlined by the military following the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

The other two stages; establishing a new constitution and holding presidential elections, were completed in January and June 2014 respectively.